Thursday, April 7, 2011

NY1 Exclusive: Speech By National Teachers' Union Head Randi Weingarten Copies NY1 Reporter - NY1.com

NY1 Exclusive: Speech By National Teachers' Union Head Randi Weingarten Copies NY1 Reporter - NY1.com

NY1 Exclusive: Speech By National Teachers' Union Head Randi Weingarten Copies NY1 Reporter

By: Lindsey Christ

When a journalist, politician or student uses someone else's words without attribution in a speech or a paper, it's called plagiarism – and it's often enough to get a journalist fired, a politician embarrassed or a student kicked out of school. In this NY1 exclusive, Education reporter Lindsey Christ reports on what happens when it's someone who represents a million-and-a-half teachers.

Randi Weingarten used to run the teachers' union in New York City. Now she runs the national teachers' union, the American Federation of Teachers. When she talks, people listen. But what happens when the words she uses aren't her own?

Here's what Weingarten said in a speech about a week ago: "The New York City Department of